Urgent Crier

We recently came across this altered book in a box of books at a sale.  The cover of the book has a square carefully cut out, not going all the way through the boards, but a partial excision preserving the original interior pastedown endpapers when opened, thus creating a frame for the artist's assemblage. 

The small format book measures 5 1/2"w x 6", and the title is Urgent Crier by French poet Andre Benedetto, published by Robert Morel Publisher, 1966.

The text is in French and the theme of the six poems inside is the horrors perpetuated by humanity: racism, torture, war, and death.

The assemblage shows a tiny figure floating above a circuit board, bracketed by wooden half-circles, attached to the board with yellow yarn.

I often document ephemera found in books, and book owners often leave signs of themselves (signatures, inscriptions, notes, marginalia, coffee rings) but here is an example of a book deliberately physically transformed into art by a previous owner.